World Environment Day: Costa Rica uses Google Earth Engine Satellites

Written by Meritxell Batlle CardonaViajes National Geographic España

Costa Rica and Deforestation

Costa Rica, a country well known for its biodiversity, battles against deforestation daily. For a long time, it has played a fundamental role in forest conservation. It was the first country to achieve 54% forest coverage of its current territory, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Costa Rica has now launched an ambitious project that utilizes satellites and aerial images to combat deforestation. The primary objective of this project is to enhance globally available methodologies for detecting deforestation and forest degradation.

Pioneer Technology

The Ministry of Environment and Energy, coinciding with Earth Day, presents a project titled “Combatiendo la deforestación y la degradación forestal en Costa Rica utilizando Google Earth Engine.” This project aims to bolster the capabilities of national entities in these specialized areas.

Utilizing Google Earth Engine: The project utilizes data collected by satellites and the image processing tool Google Earth Engine, similar to what Google Earth uses. Google Earth Engine is the most comprehensive publicly accessible network. It will also improve algorithms for assessing change detection maps, aiding in swift actions against illegal deforestation activities.

This initiative addresses global issues such as climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, and, most notably, deforestation. It enhances the evaluation of forestry activity changes in Costa Rica and monitors carbon emissions.

The text concludes with a question: Is this project the key to preventing a decrease in forested areas?

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